Wicked is a style story of how good-hearted Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West. This is an epic Broadway production with a perfect mix of simple, low-key moments as well as powerful show-stopping numbers. Every piece of music serves to advance the story or evolve the characters. Every character the audience is already familiar with comes into play. This doesn’t just provide the backstory to Elphaba and Glinda, but rather, the entirety of Oz.

Bringing to life these characters is an amazing cast across-the-board, but of course, the standouts are Natalie Daradich as Glinda and Anne Brummel as Elphaba. The production wouldn’t work if these two characters weren’t believable in their roles. They have to convey multiple levels of depth to their characters, always keeping us in the moment while simultaneously never letting us forget what they are going to become. It seems an impossible task, but both performers do a brilliant job. The stage design is stunning, the music is thrilling, and the story is far more clever than one would expect. The audience was enraptured from beginning to end, soaking in every moment and reassessing the story they thought they knew so well.

Wicked is performing from March 9 to April 3 at Orange County Performing Arts Center – Segerstrom Hall, in Costa Mesa CA. Each day, 2½ hours prior to show time people who present themselves at the Segerstrom Center Box Office will have their names placed in a lottery drum and then 30 minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of orchestra seats at $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in-person at the Box Office, with a limit of two tickets per person.